Stop #3 Pt. 2: Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain (and sends you into a crazy steakhouse)

We got a later start than planned this morning because of teenage drama late into the night. This, too, shall pass. Right??

Our original plan had been to get up early and visit the science center in downtown but we scratched that in favor of a couple of extra hours of needed sleep. After hotel breakfast and packing up the car, we headed a little south toward the University of Oklahoma. We were scheduled for a 1PM tour of the National Weather Center. Sarah is interested in meteorology as a possible career choice and since we were so close to the nation's only national severe weather forecasting center, we made sure to visit. We learned a lot about the weather, the small numbers of people who study weather and how they apply this information in various fields after graduation, and what Sarah would need to do/study to achieve a degree in meteorological sciences. We saw actual meteorologists at work, preparing forecasts, preparing warnings, and trying out new weather technology. We also saw students at work, prepping to become our future weather pioneers.

**Side note about Oklahoma: they have many interesting road signs. Some are encouraging like, "Drive Friendly" and others are odd like, "Don't Drive Into Smoke". This one was particularly unnerving and made us question more than just the quality of hitchhikers in the state: 

Okay, back to our regularly-scheduled programming:

The building is actually half university, half government occupied, so we weren't able to see all the parts of the property. They wouldn't want us spilling government weather secrets, I guess. Our tour guide explained that about 500 people work in the building; I would wager we saw maybe 60 people. Most of them are "nerds, introverts" who are at work making sure the nation is aware of any severe weather threats, so one would never guess that 500 people work in the building. He was right. And...the promise of nerdy introverts appealed very much to Sarah.

The building is only 6 stories tall but it was explained to us that something like 3,000 miles (yes, miles) of wire is run between the floors for all of the electronic equipment it takes to make everything work so the building is more like a 12-story building. Visitors who are afraid of heights were warned to avoid looking down over the side as we toured the upper floors. Sarah didn't dare look and took the elevator instead of the stairs with each descent.

We were really impressed with this free tour. It was definitely worth every penny and it made me thankful that technology has come so far as to keep people safe when the weather turns scary.

Our van pulled out of the U of O parking lot with Waze set for Amarillo, TX. I drove virtually the entire way; Andy needed to work. He also served as the nature photographer as the landscape changed. Texas definitely has what the Dixie Chicks call "wide open spaces". We saw loads of cattle and endless ranch-type lands.

The skies were beautiful until we realized we were driving directly into a thunderstorm. The winds picked up very fast and the rain came down in buckets. Before we left, our tour guide told us we shouldn't miss Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo, home of the 72 oz "free" steak. If you can eat it (and accompanying baked potato, salad, roll, and beverage) in under 60 minutes, it's free! If you don't finish the entire meal, they keep your prepaid $72. Yeeps! This restaurant happened to be on our route, about 15 minutes before arrival to our hotel. So we stopped because we were hungry and to wait out the storm.

This place was a hoot! The food was great (Andy and I split a steak 70/30, the kids' food was served in cowboy hats, and there was a banjo/guitar duo serenading tables), the atmosphere was comfortable, and the service was spot on. A kid who couldn't have been a day over 12 years old was at the "big table" trying his hand at the 72-ounce challenge but he gave up with 18 minutes left and the entire restaurant erupted in applause. There were games and kitschy novelties all around. We stopped for a few souvenirs and our waiter even gave us all hats to match Char's and Alex's. We have no shame so we wore them for the rest of the evening. It was a good place to stop.

On to the hotel we traveled and we all donned swimsuits to head to the pool/hot tub. My feet/legs have continued swelling so I thought it might help to have a go at the hot tub before my shower. We had the place to ourselves since it was later in the evening so that was fun. We're all showered and turning in for the night. Tomorrow it's off to NM as we make our way to the west coast. We're more than 1,500 miles in so far and counting!

Stop #3 Pt. 1: O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!

The drive to Oklahoma was scenic, lonely, and smelly. I say scenic because the drive was almost strictly two- or four-lane highways (we call those "back roads"). The views were largely flat but the roads were hilly in a lot of spots. I say lonely because for most of the drive, we were the only car on the road. We started to wonder if anyone lived in Oklahoma. Andy drove for the first few hours through some serious rain, about which he was less than pleased because the speed limit on most of those roads is 75 mph! But the torrential downpours meant he had to drive slower to maintain safety. We switched drivers around dinnertime and the weather cleared up just in time for me to drive...75 here I come! I say smelly because we left for Oklahoma directly from the Diamond Mines and we were all pretty...ripe. Charlotte's shoes were soaked and all of the dampness mixed with our sweaty bodies and rapidly declining teenage attitudes made for a stinky ride. Kongy is glad he doesn't have a working nose.

Along the way, we stopped at a park with a lake and enjoyed the view (not as much the hole-in-the-ground toilets) as we stretched our legs and the kids tried skipping stones. It was pretty but we could tell there was a storm rolling in.

We made it to our hotel and I unpacked & showered while Andy and the kids swam in the pool. It was a low-key night as we settled in for a two-day stay.

The morning was our first sleep-in morning. Well, for four of us anyway; Andy was up bright and early for a client meeting so he set up in the lobby of the hotel and worked there for most of the day. The kids and I lounged in the morning and found the hotel laundry room to clean up our dirty Diamond Mine clothes.

After lunch, we headed into downtown OKC and visited the Oklahoma City Memorial, built on the site of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in 1995. It was so quiet and peaceful. I was impressed with the number of park rangers working there and patrolling the grounds. The chairs are arranged in 9 rows, each row representing a floor of the building, and each chair a person who perished in that location on that floor. Smaller chairs are for the children who died. A small portion of an original wall still stands and is engraved with the names of survivors from that days.

I was particularly moved by the Survivor Tree, originally engulfed in the flames of surrounding cars in the parking lot, the charred bark seemed to tell a story that the videos, reflection pool, and expansive grassy areas just couldn't tell. They hadn't seen it; they hadn't felt it. But this tree was there, has been there for at least a century and has seen so much. Yet it still grows and thrives, growing new bark but keeping the scarred bark as a reminder of how far it has come. I sat under this tree for a while, thinking about the families who experienced horrific loss, the families of the perpetrators and their different, yet still profound loss, and those who lived in the city at the time. I talked with my children about these different perspectives and how one would feel being in each different situation. I was thankful to feel the cool breeze and see my children sitting there under that tree, knowing that so many families' lives were altered in that one minute in 1995.

Andy still had work to do so we dropped him back off at the hotel and, in keeping with our solemn theme for the day, headed to Moore, OK, about 4 miles from our hotel. This is the site of an EF-5 tornado in 2013 that killed many people and destroyed an elementary school (7 children perished inside Plaza Towers Elementary School). Sarah is both fascinated by and terrified of natural disasters--mostly tornadoes--so we're right in her wheelhouse as far as weather is concerned. So she knows all the locations of our nation's most terrifying tornadoes. We visited Plaza Towers school and saw the memorial they have set up for the children killed there on that day. Sarah knew a lot about it and shared with Charlotte, Alex, and me on the way. Each child was represented by a personalized marble bench from which originated a "ray" of sunshine on the walkway into the school. There were also large, engraved marble likenesses of each child lining the walls of the entrance way to the school doors. No names were associated with the 7 figures but from the benches, we could figure out which child was which. We also noticed that the neighborhood was mostly newer-looking homes, most likely because they previous homes had been destroyed by the tornado. Given what happened at home last week, our hearts were broken to know the destruction that happened here, but joyful to know that brighter things could be ahead for the folks back home.

We stopped for groceries to make lunches on the road and ate dinner in our hotel room. Andy took the kids to a local park to throw the frisbee and I rested my swollen ankle. I have a case of tendonitis in my left ankle and, coupled with the swelling that happens whenever I travel, it's looking mighty gnarly 'round my lower limbs these days. I'll spare you the photo this time.

Tomorrow we're going to visit the National Weather Center on the campus of Oklahoma University before marching out of town for Amarillo, TX. Should be an interesting visit and we're all looking forward to this tour.